


Signed and Sealed

by Claire



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Dave on a book tour, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-07-10 09:57:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6978661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claire/pseuds/Claire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave has been on the tour for six weeks, now, and this is the closest to home he's been.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Signed and Sealed

Aaron hangs back as Dave's talking, capturing the crowd in the room with the each word. He'd debated on coming, but the fact that Jessica had offered to take Jack for the weekend, together with a backlog of leave to take meant that Dave's book signing only a two hour drive away was something that Aaron couldn't resist.

Dave has been on the tour for six weeks, now, and this is the closest to home he's been. Given that the only company Aaron's had at night has been that of his own hand, the drive out here was a decision Aaron made relatively quickly.

He'd slipped in near the beginning of the talk, the group listening hanging on every word. And he knows how that feels, Dave's smooth tones working their way into you as he speaks. He'd phoned Aaron the previous weekend. Aaron'd had him on speakerphone as he'd rested on the bed, his fingers around his cock as they'd talked. He'd heard the slide of skin over the phone, as Dave had masturbated along with him, the two of them edging each other closer until they'd both come.

And now Aaron was here, standing in a bookstore while his partner told stories of the monsters they'd caught. There's a brief break in Dave's words as he notices Aaron standing there, a smile crossing his face before he continues reading from the first chapter of the new book.

Dave takes questions at the end, like he always does. He's told Aaron before that this is his favourite part of each talk that he does. He loves hearing the questions that other people ask him, seeing the way they've read his words and the meaning they found in them.

The first question is one that Aaron knows Dave has answered before. He tells them that the worst cases are the ones where they don't get there in time. And Aaron knows what he means. There have been too many nights where they've just needed to touch each other once they're alone. Where they've needed to reaffirm with each other that they're there, where there's skin against skin and the words murmured between them . Where they do anything to chase away the fact that they got there too late.

The next person asks about a specific case, about the one Dave focuses on in the book. Why that one, she asks. What made this one so special?

It's not that he was special, Dave tells her. It's that he'd felt that there was something to learn from the case. Aaron also knows that Dave's been wanting to write about the case for a while. It was one of the ones they dealt with back when Aaron first joined the BAU. Back before the ridiculous crush he'd nursed on Dave had soothed out into friendship, before that friendship turned into something more.

But Dave had always held off from writing about it, hadn't wanted to give the man they'd finally tracked down after seven people had died any more of the publicity he'd craved so badly. And then they'd received notification from the prison that he'd been killed by another inmate. Dave had started the book the same day.

There are other questions. Ones about the team, ones about their cases. And, before long, Dave's publicist (and, yes, part of Aaron is endlessly amused that he's dating someone with their own publicist) tells the group that there's only time for one more question.

Dave points to a young woman in the front row, asking what her question is.

"How do you do it?" she asks. "How do you see so much evil in the world and carry on doing what you do?"

Dave doesn't hesitate in answering her. "It's knowing that we stop these people from hurting anyone else, knowing that we make a difference. Also," he pauses for a moment, looking over at Aaron, "our team is a family. We support each other, have each others' backs. We love each other, and it's the reason we can face doing this day after day."

Aaron nods, giving Dave a soft smile before Dave turns back to the people there to wrap up the night. And Aaron knows that afterwards they'll go back to Dave's hotel room, there'll be dinner, and the bottle of scotch Aaron knows Dave takes with him whenever he does one of these tours. They'll spend tomorrow in the hotel, all easy touches and never leaving the bed. And then they'll drive back, and face whatever the day brings to them and the team. Together.


End file.
